i can't help but think of lyndon johnson. he spent all those years, all those decades in congress and in the senate, going along, placating, doing the bidding of the conservative forces who controlled his immediate political future. this was the lyndon johnson who was the segregationist, but then when he got to the top, he became president, no one controlled him anymore. he was free to speak his mind and act on his conscience. this is the lyndon johnson who ended segregation. i find myself wondering if there is a little lbj in this pope, a conservative cardinal who infuriated the left in argentina and now as pope is becoming something of a liberal icon. here to make sense of who pope francis is and how he is shaping up our politics, we're joined by msnbc.com's benjy sarlin, sarah p posner, ana marie cox is still with us, and ambassador flynn as well. ambassador flynn, i'll start with you. you were an appointee of president clinton as the ambassador to the vatican. you are somebody who has fairly conservative views on the cult